North Staffordshire hospital to lose 1,350 jobs

A brand new hospital building is due to open in November with less beds

About 1,350 jobs have been forecast to be lost at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.

Figures obtained by a Freedom of Information request show the hospital is expected to lose the staff over the next five years.

Staff numbers are projected to go from 5,980 to 4,631 by the end of 2015.

The trust is currently making savings of £36m from a budget of £463m. Its chief executive has said she does not expect any compulsory redundancies.

The hospital trust has said it is also undergoing modernisation, with a brand new hospital building opening in November.

Chief executive Julia Bridgewater said: "There are no plans to make 1,350 staff redundant.

"The trust needs to make changes to the numbers of staff working at the hospital between now and 2015 as we reduce beds in line with our new hospital and the move of services into the community.

"The programme to achieve this - Fit for the Future - incorporates a reduction of around 300 beds and the transfer of a significant number of our staff into a community setting, providing care closer to people's homes."